Skins stars admitted they had a 'f***ed up' experience filming sex scenes on the show

As well as introducing the world to a string of young British stars who have gone on to do great things, Skins pretty much guided the majority of its fans throughout their teenage years.

Although it was very sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, the show was also a sort of moral compass for people who were also navigating their adolescence - as whatever those lot did, was probably what you shouldn't do.

The series centred on a group of sixth formers from Bristol delved into some deep subjects; such as substance abuse, sexuality, teenage pregnancy, mental health issues and eating disorders.

Channel 4

Although it's pretty heavy viewing, the outrageous and emotive storylines paved the way for a lot of positive conversations as it was the first time that the issues youngsters in the UK typically deal with were brought under a spotlight.

It's debut on Channel 4's E4 in January 2007 marked a change in TV as we know it, as the gang of amateur actors who were fighting over fellas, struggling with their home life and grappling with what to do after leaving school were more relatable than anything we'd ever seen before.

Although a lot of positive things came from Skins, some of the stars have since spoken out about the difficulties they faced during filming and how they were 'traumatised' after shooting some explicit scenes.

April Pearson - who played Tony Stonem's (Nicholas Hoult) on-again, off-again girlfriend Michelle Richardson - opened up about the 'f***ed up experience' she had while making the hit first seasons of the series which ran from 2007 to 2013.

During an episode of her podcast Are You Michelle From Skins? in 2021, the Age of Kill star, 35, sat down with fellow former cast-member Laya Lewis, who starred as Liv Malone in seasons five and six of Skins.

Both of the actresses had just turned 18 when they were cast in Skins, which they believe largely contributed to the number of sex scenes their characters were given.

They both claimed that they felt vulnerable and unprotected while filming intimate moments.

Pearson explained: "At the time you're young and you don't know any better. You don't really know what to say, to speak out, is this okay… And as with a lot of victims of trauma, you look back at it and think: 'Yeah, that was f***ed up'.

"There's a difference between being officially old enough and mentally old enough. I was having this conversation with my husband and I was saying I do feel like I was too young, I feel like I wasn't protected," she said.

E4

Lewis then added: "I do think fair enough, we are actors and we are acting, but I think if you want to pluck children out of the street, which is essentially what they were doing to have this authentic onscreen thing going on, there needs to be a bit more help."

The pair then claimed that other cast members have also 'carried some negativity' from the experience of filming.

Kaya Scodelario, who starred as Effy Stonem, previously alleged that 'the safeguarding wasn't there' during filming, while Jack O'Connell, who played James Cook, admitted he felt 'compromised' while shooting sex scenes.

Pearson continued on the podcast: "We're talking seven series of the same show and everyone feeling the same, certainly the women and some of the men I have spoken to feel the same.

"Nowadays you have an intimacy co-ordinator as a standard for nude, intimate scenes and that just simply wasn't a thing," she explained.

E4

The Skins stars also went on to discuss the pressures they felt to be 'smaller or slimmer' while creating the show, with Lewis alleging that they were told to 'skip breakfast' and told to 'just have a jacket potato' for dinner.

The 31-year-old claimed she and other teenage cast members had to line up in bikinis while being stared at by the crew who then decided 'if [they] looked good enough to film in Morocco'.

"Costume told me to go first because I'm the most comfortable one, to show the other girls it's not that bad — but it was bad... I will never forget that moment," Lewis continued.

"At the time I thought it was horrible, but I think it's so much f***ing worse now."

LADbible have contacted Channel 4 for comment.

Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity, Channel 4, Sex and Relationships

Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

@livburke_